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3 Effective Ways to Optimize KOL Management

The pharmaceutical sector is an ever
growing and innovative one. This multi-billion dollar industry is constantly
trying to introduce new drugs with different combinations and under different
brand names. Initially, when pharma companies came out with a new drug, they
used to turn to patients and distribute samples to them so as to give them an
opportunity to use these drugs. However, not being qualified enough to dispense
these drugs on their own, this methodology of marketing came under fire and
soon it was deemed unethical and heavily criticized. Pharma companies realized
that if they wanted to sell a new drug in the highly competitive market of
medicines, then, they would instead need to target those people that are
legally authorized and have the knowledge to dispense drugs to the right
patient at the right time. These are basically physicians and they form the
group known as Key Opinion Leaders or KOLs. So now, instead of the ‘pull’
marketing that pharma companies were opting for, wherein they were pulling in
customers to try out their drugs, their approach shifted towards ‘push’
marketing, wherein they narrowed down on physicians that could popularize their drug.
As a KOL myself, this is my account of how a pharma company wished to use my
expertise to help sell one of their newer drugs on the market and succeeded.

1.
Finding reliable KOLs

The first step involved in this lengthy
process for the pharma company was to find a reliable and trustworthy KOL. I
had a flourishing dental practice in a suburb of Mumbai, with a steady flow of
loyal patients. I also worked one shift in the dental unit of a well known
hospital nearby, where I was the main dentist dabbling in various field
including endodontics and extractions. Needless to say, these are fields where
invariably, drugs must be prescribed so as to curb any inflammatory condition
or swelling. Drugs are also often prescribed on a prophylactic basis prior to
any invasive procedure.

Holistic view of a Key Opinion Leader

Recognizing my potential as a KOL due to
my patient flow, the pharma company made use of sophisticated customer
relationship management software, to shortlist my name. They approached me
thereafter and gave me details regarding their new drug, its effects and
contraindications and also gave me a batch of samples to dispatch to patients.
Not only that, they also gave me a set of feedback forms so that I could review
their drug depending on the patients' feedback. They took down my address and
various other details. I was a bit skeptical at first as I’d been warned by my
seniors and peers about scavenging and brutal pharma companies and their
sales tactics. However, seeing how organized they were with their CRM for KOL management in place,
I agreed to dispense their drug to any patient that was genuinely in need of
it.

2.
Regular follow-up with the KOLs

Once registered, the next important step
for this company was to maintain a follow-up. After having dispatched the
samples to me, the same sales representative kept coming back on a weekly basis
like clockwork. He had my name down in his CRM software and so, at the same
time every week, made it a point to come and drop by to give me more samples
and collect the feedback forms that I’d filled, so that he could enter it in his
system. This was just as important as finding and targeting a KOL because
without a proper system in place to follow-up on the drug response, the entire
process would fail.

3. Using Social Media to increase reach

My patients slowly gave me positive
feedback on this drug and I myself was happy to see the results clinically.
And the icing on the cake was that this drug was lower priced than the
standard drug prescribed to treat swellings and inflammatory conditions. Thus,
impressed with the feedback of my patients, I decided to further the news about
this new and effective drug to my peers.

Physicians are usually not very tech
savvy and hence, tend to underestimate the huge influence that social media
outlets like Facebook and Twitter can have on a personal brand. It isn’t
without a reason that these are among the top 5 most popular portals in the world. Thus,
I wrote a note detailing my findings on the drug with pre and post operative
pictures of my patients and tagged it to the page of the drug that had been
created by the pharma company on Facebook. In no time, my friends started
inquiring about this drug and eventually, word spread like wildfire.

This is merely a small account of how one
pharma company managed to make full use of a single influential KOL in
furthering the reach of their new drug in the market. Although there are few
pharma companies that have realized the potential of CRM and KOL management in
the marketing of new drugs and to sustain old ones, the smarter companies
have already got a head start on this. KOL management holds the key to the
future of pharmaceutical industries. In fact, the pharmaceutical sector is
still recovering from the numerous mistakes it has made in the past. Due to the
various scandals that even big names regularly get embroiled in, patient
skepticism is at an all time high. Patients, quite understandably, prefer to
use their good old, tried and tested drugs which they know work well on them.
So, if a pharma company really wishes to create a trustworthy brand name, then,
it needs to propagate its drugs with a multi-pronged strategy in place, and
this will only be possible if its KOL management system is in its right
place to begin with.